Grace Fellowship Church is a big church with many members, initiatives, and a long history. Whether you’ve been attending for several years or haven’t visited us yet, here are ten things that you might not know…

1. Grace Fellowship Church was founded in the summer of 1979. At the time, GFC was just 30 believers meeting together in a home to encourage each other and walk in faith together.

2. Grace Fellowship Church met in someone’s home for three months before moving their meetings to Towne Acres Elementary. In 1982, they purchased a small building on Virginia Street. Six years later, in 1988, GFC settled onto 16 acres on Greenwood Drive which we still call home today.

3. Cookies for Kairos – Kairos is a ministry of the local church that shares the love of Christ with those impacted by incarceration – prison residents, their families, and those who work with them. Kairos Inside serves those within the prison walls. Kairos Outside serves the families of prisoners. For several years, GFC has lent a helping hand by providing cookies for these events. Homemade cookies are prepared and prayed over in the homes of GFCers. Then, the cookies are brought inside the Northeast Correctional Complex in Mountain City, where inmates will receive them by the dozen. You may think cookies are not a big deal, but these sweet treats are often the only agape love some inmates have ever received.

4. Our partnership with Mountain View serves one of our city’s most economically and educationally challenged areas. Since 2010, we have sought to encourage the school through tangible expressions of God’s love. Our goal is to build trust and relationships with the staff, children, and families through direct support and involvement. This is done by providing supplies, hosting events, and partnering with parents to surround nearly 500 children and families with reliable support systems.

5. Our Student Ministry dedicates itself to investing in students’ lives as they walk through the seasons of adolescence and young adulthood. Every Sunday night, students can grow in their relationships with each other and the Lord in dynamic and engaging environments with large and small group times. We hope God will use our Student Ministry team and volunteers to partner with families as we reach the next generation for Christ.

6. Grace Access disABILITY Ministry supports families and individuals with disabilities and invites them into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Our goal is to create an accepting church environment for individuals and families impacted by disabilities. This is accomplished through special events, dedicated volunteers, and community groups for family members.

7. Staff – Family Life
Malia Grant, Family Life Director, provides leadership to the Family Life Team as they engage in ministry to kids, students, families, and volunteers. These ministries include Grace Kids, birth – 5th grade, and Grace Students, 6th-12th grades.

8. Staff – Facilities
Kevin Rice, Facilities Coordinator, coordinates the logistics of the GFC facility maintenance and oversees the facility team that prepares for onsite services and meetings.

9. Love In Action – GFC embarked on a three-month initiative to show love to our community and local outreach partners. In October, we collected supplies for Mountain View School, Agape Women’s Services, and Good Samaritan Ministries. In November, we partnered with Mountain View School and Good Samaritan Ministries in serving.

• 13,370 diapers
• 2,482 pencils
• 1,416 cans of food
• 650 markers
• 639 cans of food
• 375 Sharpies
• 262 tissue boxes
• 201 Clorox wipe containers
• 181 boxes of potatoes
• 96 packs of paper

10. We have TONS of volunteers! From just September to November 2022, there were 547 unique volunteers pursuing our mission of building a community to reach a community. Check out our Volunteer Spotlights for their stories.

Did you learn something new about GFC? We would love to connect more! If you’ve never visited us, text NEW HERE to 94000 to get started. If you have visited us and are looking for the next step, consider joining a group or volunteering!